Rukia's Scrutiny

Rukia praised Silas for his soul burial. She was even more in awe at his ability to take down a Hollow so effectively. Yet Silas was not interested in her comments; he was interested in whether Aizen found the show worthwhile. That was because every move Silas made, Aizen would correctly calculate the battles he would undergo.

If he saw Silas as too strong, then he would send either stronger opponents or more enemies. There was truly only one way to help divert people's attention, and that was to hide their spiritual pressure. As long as he didn't go overboard, even Soul Reapers like Rukia, who was staying in Silas's room, couldn't tell how strong he was.

Silas would eventually return to his body. The sudden act prompted Rukia to ask him why he felt so off after defeating the Hollow. Silas answered, "I'm tired. Using Soul Reaper powers can be exhausting."

Rukia was perplexed upon hearing that. The only reason he stated this, however, was so Aizen could hear. Pretending to be weak was one thing, but confessing to someone like Aizen, who didn't think Silas knew of his existence, was a different story. Aizen would surely take note of Silas's "weakness".

Rukia had plans to train him, but his recent acts kept her quiet. Not only had he defeated Hexapod in one move, he had correctly aimed his attack at a Hollow's vital point: its head. Before, when he had defeated Fishbone D, he had used two swings to crush it with pure might. Now, he was being precise with how he swung his weapon.

The two would later arrive home together. Rukia had not said a single word to Silas until they entered his room. "Ichigo, you said that Uryū and you were slaying Hollows before me... How much do you know about them exactly?"

"That's none of your concern."

His response frustrated Rukia, so she screamed, "Do you have to be so intolerable?! I only asked a simple question!"

Silas was truly starting to get annoyed at this thing. Her attitude was no different than what he remembered from the series. And the fact that she was easily upset at him made him feel livid. Calmly, he answered, "You and I aren't friends. Understand that."

Rukia's face turned red with anger. She called him an obnoxious jerk before storming out the bedroom window. Silas was more than content with her departure. She wouldn't be needed for some time anyway since the next main Hollow to appear wouldn't be Acidwire, someone Silas had already taken care of.

Perhaps he could have just explained to Rukia that Uryū was the only one doing all the work, but that wasn't something worth sharing. In two months' time, if Silas played Ichigo's role correctly, Rukia's coworkers, a Soul Reaper named Renji Abarai, and her brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, would come to the world of the living to bring her back to the Soul Society. Ichigo had to fight those two, almost dying in the process.

Silas was not looking forward to fighting them. Even if he tried to reason with them, that's not something Aizen would want. Plus, it wouldn't work. Rukia was going to be sentenced to execution for having shared her Soul Reaper powers with Ichigo. And what was preventing members of the Soul Society from coming immediately was because of her Gigai—a Gigai that Kisuke created, which also kept her spiritual pressure hidden.

Even if Rukia wanted to regain her Soul Reaper powers, she couldn't because of the Gigai. It wasn't helping her recover her powers; it was gradually lowering them!

• • •

After Rukia stormed out, Silas was greeted by an unexpected guess. "Silas, why're you holding me back?" Zangetsu's voice echoed. Its all-white presence manifested in the room like an ethereal spirit.

It was safe for him to speak regularly since the two weren't physically talking, so he asked, "Do you have any memories from when you were a Hollow?"

"No, I can't say that I do."

"The person who created you is a Soul Reaper named Sōsuke Aizen. He's been watching me for an unknown amount of time now."

"Don't tell me you're scared of him," Zangetsu laughed.

In all of Silas's time watching Bleach, he never would have thought that it would be teased by a psychotic anime character. He calmly sat down, crossed his legs, and rested his elbow on the arms of the chair.

"In the end, he won't even come close to me…"

Unbeknownst to Zangetsu, Silas was referring to the "Final Getsuga Tenshō". It was a technique that he knew full well how to obtain. Granted, it had its drawback: he would lose his Soul Reaper powers. But something like that hadn't bothered Silas in the slightest since this was a hero's story—a story in which Ichigo acquired an even greater power than his adversaries time and time again.

But he was not interested in the technique per se; he desired to train with Zangetsu to reach those overbearing levels.

"I'll let you slide for calling me that name twice already, partner."

"Get used to it for now," Silas demanded. "If I show you off too much, it'll only put me at a disadvantage."

Zangetsu clicked its tongue, leaving behind a faint echo: "Have it your way then."

After it faded away, Silas considered the appropriate time to truly grasp Zangetsu's power. If he acquires all of it too early, he may have to deal with something even bigger than Aizen—Squad Zero. This squadron in the Soul Society consisted of the top ten strongest characters in this universe. Silas wouldn't dare challenge them until he was sure he could win.

As time passed, he prepared for bed. There was a sudden knock on his bedroom window, so he got up to open it, knowing full well that it was Rukia.

She entered his room and apologized for having yelled earlier. Silas didn't sympathize with the apology. Rather, he walked back to his bed, stating that it was okay. When Rukia saw how nonchalant he was, she felt ashamed. She was certain that a teenage boy would have at least smiled, but Silas was far too much of a poised person.

"Tomorrow, I'd like you to teach me those spells…"

"Huh?!"